PATNA: Kavita Verma, a housewife and freelance
writer from the state capital, recently became the first Bihari woman
to skydive at the age of 68. She achieved the feat near Ellington
airport, Connecticut, US. Earlier, she had never attempted any such act
in her life. She cannot even swim.
On a visit to US last month, her youngest son, who is a doctor there, took her to an airport, a skydiving centre, and asked her to do skydiving just in fun along with him and other professional divers. "I anyhow mustered courage and became attempt the feat," she said .
"My husband N P Verma, a former principal of Patna College, was also there who discouraged me from doing it because of my age and the risk factor involved," she said. Kavita is the grandmother of many children.
Interestingly, her husband was asked to sign a declaration that he would be the person to collect her body in case of any mishap. But this did not deter her; she went ahead and boarded the aeroplane for skydiving. She was not aware that in April, a man who was skydiving at the same spot fractured his leg after a parachute-related error sent him falling to the ground.
"I jumped from a height of about 20,000 feet and remained in air for about 10 minutes. I enjoyed very much the thrilling experience," she recalls. "I was amused to see myself in long pants and a comfortable long- sleeved shirt. We were given a jumpsuit, helmet and goggles - everything that one needs to skydive safely," she said. On her next US trip, she intends to have an undersea encounter with sharks.
On a visit to US last month, her youngest son, who is a doctor there, took her to an airport, a skydiving centre, and asked her to do skydiving just in fun along with him and other professional divers. "I anyhow mustered courage and became attempt the feat," she said .
"My husband N P Verma, a former principal of Patna College, was also there who discouraged me from doing it because of my age and the risk factor involved," she said. Kavita is the grandmother of many children.
Interestingly, her husband was asked to sign a declaration that he would be the person to collect her body in case of any mishap. But this did not deter her; she went ahead and boarded the aeroplane for skydiving. She was not aware that in April, a man who was skydiving at the same spot fractured his leg after a parachute-related error sent him falling to the ground.
"I jumped from a height of about 20,000 feet and remained in air for about 10 minutes. I enjoyed very much the thrilling experience," she recalls. "I was amused to see myself in long pants and a comfortable long- sleeved shirt. We were given a jumpsuit, helmet and goggles - everything that one needs to skydive safely," she said. On her next US trip, she intends to have an undersea encounter with sharks.
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